Whether or not 16th Century visionary Nostradamus predicted billionaire Donald Trump's triumphant 2016 U.S. presidential election bid is open to interpretation. (Art: 'The Portrait of Michel de Nostredame' by his son César de Nostredame; WikiMedia Commons)

Did Nostradamus Predict Trump Presidency & Destruction of United States?

Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, was a 16th century French apothecary, aka modern-day pharmacist, who many believe predicted future world events.

Crediting much of his visions to astrology, meditation and possibly flame gazing—catching glimpses of the future through trances induced by fire—he described what he saw in the form of quatrains, four-line poems, organizing them into centuries, and publishing more than 350 in the first edition of his legendary 10-volume Les Propheties aka The Prophecies in 1555.

Nostradamus has been credited with foretelling nearly every major tumultuous historical event in the past 450 years, from epic floods, apocalyptic fires and massacres to the ascension of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler—the latter referred to as “Hister” in his texts; both interpreted to be the first two of three antichrists he foresaw—the two world wars, September 11, 2001 terror attacks and destruction of the World Trade Center.

A recent analysis of several of Nostradamus’ quatrains has some believing that the legendary prophet has also indeed predicted billionaire-turned-realty TV personality-turned-U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump’s stunning clenching of the 2016 presidential election—as well as its apocalyptic aftermath.

Trump’s unprecedented triumph over presumed Democratic victor former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is perhaps the greatest upset in U.S. political history, with the Republican’s surge to the White House through battleground states largely unforeseen among pollsters. Though Clinton won the popular vote, Trump seized the all-important electorate vote.

The real estate mogul, as known for his brash, unapologetic style and off-the-cuff tirades—encompassing everything from the need for a physical wall to be constructed between the United States and Mexico to keep undocumented immigrants out and the establishment of a Muslim database to keep dibs on followers of Islam, and countless sexist comments, most infamously, perhaps, his “Grab them by the pussy” remarks championing sexual assault against women—as his signature blonde hair, will soon be crowned the most powerful elected official in the free world.

As such, the short-fused president will have direct access to the second-largest stockpile of nuclear warheads on the globe and its second-largest army.

Below are several of Nostradamus’ quatrains that some interpret to directly correlate to the recent 2016 U.S. presidential election—also the subject of a recent special presentation by history.com. Before we begin, however, it’s important to address some of the criticism of his works. Naysayers argue that Nostradamus’ verses are cryptic, overly broad, and therefore, can be appropriated to match or corroborate nearly any event or disaster.

True, these texts are, in fact, open-ended in nature. It’s critically important, however, to understand their code-like origins.

Astrology in the Middle Ages was widely used to help diagnose and treat those who were ill and requiring medical assistance, and as an apothecary and healer, Nostradamus traveled throughout Europe using science and studying the stars and constellations to aid those stricken with the plague.

At some point along his travels, he became fascinated with the occult. In 1550 and subsequently annually, he authored an almanac and calendars, gaining a reputation as a seer, and often sought out by nobility for horoscopes and to give psychic advice.

Yet such divinities were not aligned with the stringent teachings of the Catholic Church, interpreted as derivations of evil and magic, and considered heresy by devout followers. Thus, Nostradamus reportedly arranged his visions in poetic verse to disguise their true meanings and escape the imprisonment or executions rampant during the Inquisition, when those deemed heretics were sought out and punished for their perceived crimes. In truth, visions of the future could have gotten him killed.

With that preface, we move on with the hunt, so to say.

In chronological order of the verses, Nostradamus writes in Century I, Quatrain 57:

The trumpet shakes with great discord.
An agreement broken: lifting the face to heaven:
the bloody mouth will swim with blood;
the face anointed with milk and honey lies on the ground.

The “trumpet” in the first verse is perhaps the most blatant indication among believers that Nostradamus is foreseeing the 2016 presidential election, with the renowned seer literally citing Donald Trump by name. That he “shakes with great discord” could be a reference to nearly any of the president-elect’s public appearances, whether in interviews, along the campaign trail, or during the debates, oftentimes pointing or waving his hands in the air and speaking in loud, bombastic and threatening tones. The second verse’s “agreement broken” could represent any number of shattered pacts throughout his often vitriolic road to the White House, from Trump’s breaking ranks within the Republican Party—many of whom publicly denouncing him as their candidate, or even the foreboding possibility of the future President Trump backtracking on any of his promises to “Make America Great Again.” “The face to heaven” could symbolize dismayed voters’ prayers for a safe future, or even the rampant religiously inspired violence that has been sweeping the globe in recent years, such as the resurrection of holy wars between extremists. The horrifying third verse “the bloody mouth will swim with blood” obviously foretells of some horrific calamity, perhaps any of the massacres currently raging across the Middle East, from the killing fields of Syria and Yemen to the still unfolding bloodbaths across Iraq and Afghanistan. “The face anointed with milk and honey lies on the ground,” could be a reference to the destruction of either Israel or America.

Century II, Quatrain 46 states:

After great trouble for humanity, a greater one is prepared
The Great Mover renews the ages:
Rain, blood, milk, famine, steel and plague,
Is the heavens fire seen, a long spark running.

These verses are pretty much self-explanatory, ominously foreshadowing a horrific fate of some kind and actually naming “blood,” “famine” and “plague”—all gruesome. “The Great Mover” could be a reference to Trump, in that the few details of his stated immigration policy, besides the wall, Muslim database and a ban on Muslims entering the United States also includes a promise to deport undocumented immigrants, who number more than 11 million. That would indeed be a very large move. The verse “Is the heavens fire seen, a long spark running” may be a reference to nuclear missiles, the “long spark running” its rocket’s tail.

In Nostradamus’ Century III, Quatrain 81, he writes:

The great shameless, audacious bawler,
He will be elected governor of the army:
The boldness of his contention,
The bridge broken, the city faint from fear.

The “great shameless, audacious bawler” could again be Trump, who is all of those adjectives. That “He will be elected governor of the army” in the second verse could obviously represent his election to the U.S. presidency, as the U.S. president becomes the nation’s commander-in-chief of all its Armed Services, including the U.S. Army—viewed as the most powerful in the world. The third verse’s “boldness of his contention” could again signify Trump, as his controversial declarations, attacks, and relentless Tweets are all examples. “The bridge broken, the city faint from fear” could be interpreted as the divisiveness permeating the U.S. citizenry in the wake of the election—the last half of that verse a possible reference to the aforementioned fear expressed by the thousands marching through the streets in protest of his winning bid for the White House, notably, New York City, where demonstrations have been consistent outside Trump Towers.

Century VI, Quatrain 97

At forty-five degrees the sky will burn,
Fire to approach the great new city:
In an instant a great scattered flame will leap up,
When one will want to demand proof of the Normans.

This is perhaps one of the most horrifying verses yet. “At forty-five degrees” could be interpreted as a direct reference to Donald Trump, soon to be inaugurated the 45th president of the United States, and “the sky will burn, Fire to approach the great new city: In an instant a great scattered flame will leap up” perhaps missiles, an atomic explosion, or a nuclear holocaust, which would created massive fire and incineration and mushroom clouds. “When one will want to demand proof of the Normans” could possibly represent a so-called “false flag” event in which such an attack would be blamed on foreign powers, yet instigated or committed by others. All of these scenarios are bone-chilling to contemplate, to say the least.

Nostradamus’ Century VIII quatrains contain some of the most chilling verses possibly pertaining to the 2016 U.S. presidential election of all, seemingly describing both Hillary Clinton and the many debacles that plagued her campaign throughout the past year, including her WikiLeaks scandals, perception among voters, and perhaps even Benghazi.

Here they are in succession.

Century VIII, Quatrain 15 foretells:

The masculine woman will exert herself to the north
She will annoy nearly all of Europe and the rest of the world.
Two failures will put her in such an imbalance
That both life and death will strengthen Eastern Europe

With no disrespect, the “masculine woman” Nostradamus glimpses in the vision described in the first verse could be Hillary Clinton, as someone from the Middle Ages could arguably interpret her modern-day wardrobe and pantsuits extremely masculine in nature. Her critics haven’t been shy about describing her as cold, emotionless, or even robotic-like either, all traits perhaps more typically ascribed to men. “Exert herself to the north” could be Clinton’s long-running attempt for the White House, as Washington, D.C. is geographically northeast of her original home state of Arkansas. That she will “annoy nearly all of Europe and the rest of the world” could be a reference to her role as U.S. Secretary of State. The “two failures [that] will put her in such an imbalance” some may interpret to be her controversial use of a private server for state department emails (more on this soon) and perhaps even the controversy surrounding her handling of the 2012 Benghazi attack against the American diplomatic compounds in Benghazi, Libya, in which U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed. It could also be a veiled reference to widely circulated allegations that Clinton abused her dual role as U.S. Secretary and head of international nonprofit Clinton Foundation to profit personally. All of these issues were used by Trump to criticize and delegitimize her candidacy, with “Lock Her Up” emerging as a popular chant at his rallies. The final verse citing “life and death” and “Eastern Europe” could represent the conflict in Ukraine, Russia—with Russian President Vladimir Putin and alleged Russian hackers both popular topics invoked by Trump and Clinton throughout the campaign—or perhaps, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance that Trump mentioned more than once along the road to the White House.

Century VIII, Quatrain 20 predicts:

The false message about the rigged election
to run through the city stopping the broken pact;
voices bought, chapel stained with blood,
the empire contracted to another one.

“The false message about the rigged election” so ominously referenced by Nostradamus could obviously be interpreted as a direct reference to Trump’s blatantly false allegation that the 2016 U.S. presidential election was, in fact, “rigged.” (He’s not complaining anymore.) “To run through the city stopping the broken pact” could be a reference to his residence in New York City, and “voices bought, chapel stained with blood” and “the empire contracted to another one” could be an allusion to the theory circulating around present-day conspiracy circles that the Russian government, and Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically, has secretly and purposely been aiding Trump’s ascension, whether, as Clinton consistently alleged, by hacking her emails and supplying them to WikiLeaks, or by covertly funding the former reality TV personality, or even blackmailing him, to destabilize the United States and its global allies. In this scenario, the last verse could mean that the presidency is, in fact, contracted to Putin, or, another interpretation could be Clinton’s winning of the popular vote.

Century VIII, Quatrain 23 foreshadows:

Letters are found in the queen’s chests,
No signature and no name of the author.
The ruse will conceal the offers;
so that they do not know who the lover is.

The first verse here “Letters are found in the queen’s chests” can easily be interpreted to mean the hundreds of thousands of emails—aka, modern-day “letters”—from Hillary Clinton’s time as U.S. Secretary of State that were stored on a private server in her New York residence and published online by WikiLeaks. Its second verse “No signature and no name of the author” could possibly be a reference to the unknown source or sources who leaked them to the whistleblower site. Clinton insisted during the debates that they were stolen through cyberattacks orchestrated by Russian hackers, who were thus tampering with the presidential election in a covert effort to get Trump elected. To date, nobody is sure where they came from. “The ruse will conceal the offers; so that they do not know who the lover is” could represent the aforementioned scenario of a Russian scheme for Moscow to control the U.S. presidency, via Trump, and distract the public and authorities from investigating or realizing the true intention of the disclosures and ploy. It could also be a reference to the alleged scenario that Trump was being funded, supported, or blackmailed by Russia—“lover,” in either scenario, being Russia or Putin.

Whether or not any of the hypothetical scenarios and translations contained in this column are, in fact, true, remains unclear. Yet if so, Nostradamus predicted all of this more than 450 years ago, and foretold of much worse to come. That’s for another post.

For now, it’s all open to interpretation.

Stay tuned.

Whether or not 16th Century visionary Nostradamus predicted billionaire Donald Trump’s triumphant 2016 U.S. presidential election bid is open to interpretation. (Art: ‘The Portrait of Michel de Nostredame’ by his son César de Nostredame; WikiMedia Commons)